Thoughts
by Withen'aych
Summary: Two best friends, two hours before sunrise, and two sets of untamed thoughts! A Ron Hermione oneshot featuring some unspoken feelings, lots of tension, and a great kiss. Rated T just in case. Please R&R!


**Summary: Ron + Hermione, some unspoken feelings, lots of tension, and a great kiss. Please R&R!**

**Author's Note: Hermione and Ron are my favorite couple in Harry Potter, on all levels. I tried my best to do their characters justice. I don't have much experience with romance, so I hope I captured the feelings accurately. Well, there's only one way to find out… keep reading! And please review when you're done!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters; hence, I am writing fanfics about them in the hopes of receiving heartfelt reviews instead of publishing books which millions of avid readers will stand in line for hours to buy. Yeah, that pretty much explains it.**

XXX

"Ron.

…

Wake up."

He blearily rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

_How did she get in here? _Ron wondered.

_Moron! _He rebuked himself. _Girls can get into the guys' tower._

She stood, gazing at him expectantly.

_So, then the question is… what is she doing in here?_

Ron opened his mouth to ask Hermione just that, but she answered him before he could formulate the first word.

Softly, but at the same time authorative: "I need to speak with you immediately."

_Ohh… it is so hot when she speaks like that. And so aggravating at the same time._

He attempted to speak a second time, only to be cut off by Hermione's voice- again.

"Just get dressed quickly. Meet me in the Gryffindor common room in no less than five minutes." With that, she turned on her heel, and slipped out of the boys' dorm room.

Ron pulled himself out of bed, stood, and glanced out the window. The sun wasn't due to be up for another two hours. This meant that what Hermione had to share with him was either very, very bad… or very, … very good. He found a spare pair of slacks and a somewhat clean shirt in his trunk, and hastily donned them. Reaching into his bedside drawer, Ron retrieved his wand; he slipped it into his pocket.

_She's wai-ting._

Ron left the room, endeavoring to mimic Hermione's stealth.

XXX

She watched him stumble down the steps. Ron would never be a morning person. (To be fair, it was less "morning" and more "late, late night".) She was only somewhat impatient with his sluggishness; the illogical part of herself thought it was adorable.

_Not to mention how attractive he is when he's so disheveled… I could never let him know that, though, or he would never clean up._

She quietly cleared her throat. "Ron. You're late." Hermione noticed a flicker of a smile. "You're so slow in the morning; you're impossible." From her position in the middle of the room she was acutely aware that they were alone. Despite that this was her plan, Hermione still felt exposed.

"Well… when people let me get all the sleep I need… I don't move as slowly." Ron spoke unhurriedly, as he leisurely closed the gap between them.

Hermione took a step backward, out of the moonlight filtering through the window and into the semi-darkness filling the rest of the room. She liked feeling in control, and abhorred situations in which she was "in the spotlight" and didn't know what to do. (If she knew what action to take… that was different, and Hermione didn't mind the spotlight then.) _Well, I've got no one to blame but myself. I don't know what I was thinking! Rousting Ron from his slumber in the middle of the night! I'm sure he would rather be anywhere besides here._

XXX

_I couldn't think of anywhere I would rather be right now…_ Ron reflected. Actually, that was a lie; the reason for this line of thought were his raging hormones. If given the chance- Ron would have gone to any number of other places, simply because the circumstances were almost certainly less awkward than these. However, he was in the common room, staring at Hermione and wishing she would say something to ease the building tension.

Oh, and thinking about how mysterious and alluring she looked standing in the shadows.

XXX

The more she thought about this, the less sure she was. Ron didn't like her, not really. He only acted like he did because… _Well, why? Can I think of a half-decent reason? No, I can't…_

"I'm sorry that I woke you up, Ron. If your sleep is so important, maybe you should go back to your room."

_Even though there __must__ be a reason because there is absolutely nothing attractive about me._

Hermione felt her heart beating irregularly, and was wishing she wasn't wearing her sweater because she could feel her temperature climbing exponentially.

_Which makes me wonder why he would lose precious sleep to someone so unbearably unattractive._

"Hermione, what did you want to talk about?" Ron's question practically begged to be answered. Hermione gazed into his eyes; he wasn't begging, though. He was searching.

_Maybe… he really does like me._

She felt her face flush, and was certain that Ron would have noticed, had she not been partially obscured by the dark. Unconsciously, Hermione licked her lips. She was still analyzing Ron's features, and her eyes dropped to his mouth.

_If only he knew how much I desire to kiss him right now. If __only__ he knew!_

XXX

Ron felt paralyzed under Hermione's gaze. Even though he tried to conceal his uncertainty casually, he was absolutely positive that she could tell he was scared. Why else would she be staring at him so intently?

"Hermione." Barely above a whisper. Ron had decided after the first moments of silence that this had not been to share very, very bad news. Which left the other, positive option. So he tried again.

"Hermione." This time, loud enough to be audible

He noticed she jolted slightly when he spoke.

He noticed she licked her lips. _Oh, how much it hurt to look at her lips and not be able to touch them!_ Ron groaned.

"What was that, Ron?" Crap. He finally gets her to respond, and it's to ask about the involuntary vocalization of his lust.

"You go on."

"But I wasn't speaking."

"You should be. You usually are."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What does it sound like?"

Ron knew this conversation was going nowhere. He knew that she was only going to get hot and bothered; that was bad for two reasons.

_When she's agitated, she is so very sexy. Which means I want to do more than just kiss her._ And that, Ron knew, was often testified to visibly. He couldn't let her see that.

_And, she usually storms off. Which means less time with her._ The only reason he came down was to be with her.

One of them had to make a grander gesture than a lustful glance or a murmured name. Before the tension killed them both.

XXX

Hermione couldn't stand the silence any longer.

"Ron, sit." A pause, and then: "I mean, please sit. I woke you up so we could talk about something important." _Us. I want to talk about Ron and Hermione. You and me. Us._

As Ron approached her, Hermione began to take steps backwards. She glanced at his eyes and was startled to see that they were trained on her own. Shaken, she turned away.

But Ron caught her wrist, pulling her back around to face him. His pull was stronger than perhaps either expected, and Hermione found herself mere centimeters from Ron. After a few seconds had passed, she looked down to where Ron's grasp was.

"You can let go now, Ron," Hermione stated pointedly.

"No."

Hermione was taken aback. He hadn't denied her forcefully, but softly, and she had detected a tremor in his voice. Both what he had responded with, and how he had said it, threw her off. There was no fake bravado in his voice, nor honest courage- either of which she expected at that moment. Instead, she sensed uncertainty and determination- a strange cocktail.

Which is exactly why she should have had at least an inkling of what came next.

Ron's lips brushing hers, fleetingly. And then returning, caressing her own lips for much longer.

XXX

_I kissed her. I mean, I'm kissing her. Hermione! Now if only she would return the--_

Ron's inner reflections were interrupted by Hermione's powerful reply. Her lips pressed against his, and he could feel her breaths growing shorter and shallower. At the same time, her free hand reached up and slowly, smoothly stroked the side of his face.

_--gesture. … That didn't feel half as good when Lavender did it. But Hermione…_

Ron drew her towards him by placing his left hand in the small of her back, pushing her forward until their bodies touched. He deliberately deepened the kiss, compelling her to reach her fingers into his hair, attempting to run them through his already-tousled locks. Ron ran his tongue over the roof of her mouth. He felt her shudder against him; her fingers grasped his hair forcefully, and he moaned slightly, as a result of both the pain of her grip and the pleasure of her kiss.

Abruptly, Hermione eased herself away. Ron opened his eyes and lessend the pressure of his hand on her back. But he didn't disentangle his right hand from hers.

"Hermione, do you know … how long … I have wanted … to show you that I…" Ron swallowed. "…that I…"

_Damnmit! Why can't I just say what I'm feeling? I love her so much. I need to tell her._

XXX

Hermione studied Ron, as he valiantly attempted to vocalize something. She had endured so very long for Ron to even admit that he might have some feelings for her; however, other than gratitude for her meticulous notes and contempt for her know-it-all behavior, he hadn't divulged much emotion for her in the past two weeks. But here they were, alone, and he had just kissed her.

_There isn't anyone else here. There's no one to judge him. Why the hell won't he just say that he likes me? Is it because of how I look? Is it because he doesn't want to deal with the stipulations that come with being together?_

"WHY?!"

XXX

Startled, Ron dropped Hermione's hand.

"Why won't you just say it, Ron Weasley?"

He swallowed. She was so beautiful, and so smart, and so damn stubborn. And he didn't want to lose her. Not the way he almost had to Viktor. Not the way he almost had while he was dating Lavender. Not the way he was coming perilously close to now.

So he cupped her face with both hands and ducked down, transferring his passion for her, to her. Then, with his mouth still hovering over hers, he whispered.

"…because I love you too much, Hermione Granger, to hear you say anything besides 'I love you too.'"

XXX

Hermione sensed a shiver travel down her spine.

"I love you Ron."

She could feel his smile through their kiss.

XXX

**Author's Note: So… what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Somewhere in between? Please review! I'm just getting started with my fics and I appreciate any and all comments about my writing (unless, of course, it's flame, in which case, I'll ignore it.) I should say that I do know the difference between flame and constructive criticism, so if you feel the need to point something else, please do so. Thanks so much!**


End file.
